Europa – consumers (consumidores)

This year’s 9th International Public Markets Conference in Barcelona has been a tremendous success! After an exciting three days learning from and inspiring each other, we captured the collective voice of the meeting’s 425 participants—representing 45 countries and 119 cities—in a Conference Declaration designed to highlight the value of public markets and t […]

This summer, from June 29-July 1, PPS will be co-hosting the final Future of Places conference in Stockholm, Sweden – a beautiful and inspiring city that is a model of sustainable, walkable, high-quality urban living.

Following some major changes that have taken place downtown and in various neighborhoods throughout Detroit over the last several years—and in the wake of the devastating tolls the 2008 recession exacted on this city in particular —a recent survey conducted by the Greater Downtown Partnership has uncovered some very encouraging results! Aiming to gauge the c […]

It all started with the chairs. By simply placing some movable furniture in Harvard Yard in 2009, the University took the first steps in what would eventually become a long-term activation of its outdoor campus space. With just this small, temporary act of Placemaking, the change was dramatic and immediate.

The Placemaking Leadership Council (PLC) is gaining steam and we’re thrilled to tell you about some big steps forward, and the huge opportunities coming up. First, we want to celebrate a major milestone—as of this month, the Council now numbers 800 members in over 50 nations across the globe! The Placemaking movement is taking off, from Montana to Malawi. […]

Project for Public Spaces and our partners at Livability Solutions are pleased to announce the nine communities selected to receive free technical assistance in 2015, thanks to a grant to Project for Public Spaces from the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Sustainable Communities under their Building Blocks for Sustainable Commu […]

The project Preparation of NSDS for Mongolia Statistical System is now in the pipeline.

The project Preparation of NSDS for Mongolia Statistical System is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The project Ayeyarwady Integrated River Basin Management Project has changed to Active

The project Ayeyarwady Integrated River Basin Management Project has changed to Active. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The project WS: Pacific Regional Connectivity Program: Phase 3 - Samoa is now in the pipeline.

The project WS: Pacific Regional Connectivity Program: Phase 3 - Samoa is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The project Power Grid Improvement Project is now in the pipeline.

The project Power Grid Improvement Project is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The project Cambodia PFMMP-Additional Financing P151984 is now in the pipeline.

The project Cambodia PFMMP-Additional Financing P151984 is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The project Pacific Islands Regional Oceanscape Program - Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries is now in the pipeline.

The project Pacific Islands Regional Oceanscape Program - Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The project Community Development Program Support Project-Phase III is now in the pipeline.

The project Community Development Program Support Project-Phase III is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The project Uganda Grid Expansion and Reinforcement Project (GERP) is now in the pipeline.

The project Uganda Grid Expansion and Reinforcement Project (GERP) is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The project Kariba Dam Rehabilitation Project has changed to Active

The project Kariba Dam Rehabilitation Project has changed to Active. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database The development objective for the Kariba Dam Rehabilitation Project for Zambia is to assist in improving the safety and reliability of the Kariba Dam. This will be done by supporting the reshaping of the […]

The project Skills for jobs and competitiveness has changed to Active

The project Skills for jobs and competitiveness has changed to Active. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database The project development objective is to strengthen the TVET system for delivery of better quality and more relevant training in order to improve the employability of youth in selected priority sectors […]

The project Public Investment Management and Governance Support Project is now in the pipeline.

The project Public Investment Management and Governance Support Project is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The project Tenth Poverty Reduction Support Credit (PRSC X) is now in the pipeline.

The project Tenth Poverty Reduction Support Credit (PRSC X) is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database The objectives of the Tenth Poverty Reduction Support Development Policy Financing (PRSC-10) for Mozambique are to: (i) improve business climate and to increase transparency in the managem […]

Many developing countries display remarkably high degrees of urban concentration that are incommensurate with their levels of urbanization. The cost of excessively high levels of urban concentration can be very high in terms of overpopulation, congestion, and productivity growth. One strand of the theoretical literature suggests that such high levels of conc […]

Regional diversity and inclusive growth in Indian cities

This paper examines the employment growth of Indian districts from 2000 to 2010 in the manufacturing and services sectors. Specialization and diversity metrics that combine industries in both sectors are calculated and related to subsequent job growth. The analysis finds robust and consistent evidence that the diversity of industries in the district across t […]

The trade-reducing effects of restrictions on liner shipping

This paper examines how policy governing the liner shipping sector affects maritime transport costs and seaborne trade flows. The paper uses a novel data set and finds that restrictions, particularly on foreign investment, increase maritime transport costs, strongly but unevenly. The cost-inflating effect ranges from 24 to 50 percent and trade on some routes […]

This paper investigates the effect of carbon or gasoline taxes on commuting-related CO2 emissions in an urban context. To assess the impact of public transport on the efficiency of the tax, the paper investigates two exogenous scenarios using a dynamic urban model (NEDUM-2D) calibrated for the urban area of Paris: (i) a scenario with the current dense public […]

Open skies over the Middle East

The dynamism of air traffic markets in the Middle East obscures the persistence of restrictions on international competition. But how important are such restrictions for passenger traffic? This paper uses detailed data on worldwide passenger aviation to estimate the effect of air transport policy on international air traffic. The policy variable is a quantit […]

The Brasilia experiment : road access and the spatial pattern of long-term local development in Brazil

This paper studies the impact of the rapid expansion of the Brazilian road network, which occurred from the 1960s to the 2000s, on the growth and spatial allocation of population and economic activity across the country's municipalities. It addresses the problem of endogeneity in infrastructure location by using an original empirical strategy, based on […]

VideoAfter following the footsteps of the Last March of The Iron Brigade, my covivant and I found ourselves on the opposite side of town from our horseless carriage. We sat on the lawn of the Lutheran Seminary listening to a band in blue uniforms perform period music. We were munching on the [...]

The thrill of bidding and the thump of the gavel that auctions provide don’t necessarily have to be experienced in person—the world learned that from eBay. But Berlin-based Auctionata, which offers those experiences via live webcast, are reinforcing that truth. The company just announced a €42 million C round of funding [...]

Water quality, brawn, and education: the rural drinking water program in China

Although previous research has demonstrated the health benefits of water treatment programs, relatively little is known about the effect of water treatment on education. This paper examines the educational benefits to rural youth in China of a major drinking water treatment program started in the 1980s, perhaps the largest of such programs in the world. By e […]

Evidence on policies to increase the development impacts of international migration

International migration offers individuals and their families the potential to experience immediate and large gains in their incomes, and offers a large number of other positive benefits to the sending communities and countries. However, there are also concerns about potential costs of migration, including concerns about trafficking and human rights, a desir […]

Measuring agricultural knowledge and adoption

Understanding the trade-offs in improving the precision of agricultural measures through survey design is crucial. Yet, standard indicators used to determine program effectiveness may be flawed and at a differential rate for men and women. The authors use a household survey from Mozambique to estimate the measurement error from male and female self-reports o […]

Differences in relative female employment by soil texture are used to explain the heterogeneous deficit of female children across districts within India. Soil texture varies exogenously and determines the depth of land tillage. Deep tillage, possible in loamy but not in clayey soil textures, reduces the demand for labor in agricultural tasks traditionally pe […]

Diet quality, child health, and food policies in developing countries

Although the importance of diet quality for improving child health is widely recognized, the roles of environmental factors and the absorption of nutrients for children's physical growth and morbidity have not been adequately integrated into a policy framework. Moreover, nutrient intakes gradually affect child health, so it is helpful to use alternative […]

This study explores the relationship between mandating a nondiscrimination clause in hiring practices along gender lines and the employment of women versus men in 58 developing countries. The study finds a strong positive relationship between a nondiscrimination in hiring clause and women's relative to men's employment. The relationship is robust t […]

NASA's launch of the Mars Science Laboratory -- hampered by technical difficulties and cost overruns -- has been delayed until the fall of 2011, NASA officials said at a news conference Thursday in Washington.

There is urgency afoot to acknowledge the disconnection between ecological realities and the persistence of past ways of constructing the social, as if it is in isolation from the ecological. The urban is the common ground: an endlessly burgeoning, frequently contested home to spaces, institutions and people. ‘Governing for urban resilience’ brings together […]

This paper argues for an increased emphasis on the institutions of risk governance and management in understanding urban resilience. This moves analysis of vulnerability away from a focus on individuals to also consider risk management regimes as co-productive of vulnerability and resilience in the City. This is illustrated through the application of an Adap […]

Climate change poses new challenges to cities and new flexible forms of governance are required that are able to take into account the uncertainty and abruptness of changes. The purpose of this paper is to discuss adaptive climate change governance for urban resilience. This paper identifies and reviews three traditions of literature on the idea of transitio […]

Resilience is an increasingly important urban policy discourse that has been taken up at a rapid pace. Yet there is an apparent gap between the advocacy of social-ecological resilience in scientific literature and its take-up in policy discourse on the one hand, and the demonstrated capacity to govern for resilience in practice on the other. This paper explo […]

How can communities enhance social-ecological resilience within complex urban systems? Drawing on a new urbanist proposal in Orange County, California, it is suggested that planning that ignores diverse ways of knowing undermines the experience and shared meaning of those living in a city. The paper then describes how narratives lay at the core of efforts to […]

In this paper, the peri-urban is conceptualised as a territory to analyse the tensions associated with governments pursuing various agendas in isolation from those inhabiting these spaces. Two peri-urban vignettes are drawn together and Taylor’s conception of a ‘social imaginary’ is used to recognise the conundrum for government planners, as well as to suppo […]

This article examines the role played by urban gardens during historical collapses in urban food supply lines and identifies the social processes required to protect two critical elements of urban food production during times of crisis—open green spaces and the collective memory of how to grow food. Advanced communication and transport technologies allow foo […]

Understanding the factors and processes that help regions sustain economic growth has become a topic of increasing interest in recent years. We examine factors associated with the length of ‘growth spells’ for the 184 largest regions in the United States from the period 1990–2011. We find that growth duration is positively related to a number of factors one […]

This paper examines tensions and frictions in urban planning and spatial practices of town inhabitants since the beginning of the 20th century in the town of Kasba Tadla, an ordinary town in the Middle Atlas Region. It shows how Moroccan towns and cities have been divided into quarters; while some offer all amenities of modern urban life, others, built by th […]

In this paper we explore the case of Stokes Croft, Bristol, UK, as a neighbourhood in a city which has appropriated the discourse of the creative industries from the bottom up in order to foster its regeneration against capital’s art of rent. We show how Stokes Croft’s self-branding as a cultural quarter has led to struggles over the creative and cultural co […]

Live updates from the game in AmsterdamEmail alan.smith@theguardian.com | Tweet: @alansmith90 8.32pm BST 45 min: Luckily, there is no injury time. Holland, mainly thanks to Depay adding a sprinkle of excitement, deservedly go in at the break with a two-goal lead. 8.32pm BST 44 min: Vermeer has been quick off his line with the slightest sniff of any Spanish d […]

Live updates from the international friendly in TurinEmail nick.ames.casual@theguardian.com with any thoughtsOr you can tweet him @NickAmes82Gallery: Italy v England, 82 years of football rivalryDavid Squires on ... the life of Harry KaneKeep tabs on the rest of tonight’s internationals in our live clockwatch! 8.39pm BST Phil Sawyer is strangely content:“It […]

Good Will Hunting actor signed deed banning use of his likeness in films and adverts in future despite privacy laws, and other celebrities could followIt used to be that death signalled a very definite end to a celebrity career. But with the advent of CGI and hologram technology, actors and musicians no longer need to be alive to appear in new films and adve […]

Party will promise charter on press freedom and will vow to end government involvement in appointing heads of broadcasting regulatorsA right to protect journalism from state interference and an end to ministers appointing the heads of broadcasting regulators are set to be proposed by the Liberal Democrats in a new “first amendment”-style charter on press fre […]

The British public is reeling from scandals afflicting many UK institutions – the media among them; we are in danger of losing a prize that will not be easily won backWe’ve suffered a cascade of “scandals”; from the financial crisis of 2008, to the parliamentary expenses catastrophe, press misdeeds and police malpractice. Never far away, deep anxiety about b […]

Police say Mehmet Selim Kiraz, who was investigating killing of 15-year-old protester Berkin Elvan last year, has been seriously injured and taken to hospitalIstanbul’s police chief said two members of a banned leftist group who had held a prosecutor hostage in his office in Istanbul have been killed in a shootout with police.Selami Altunok said on Tuesday t […]

A DNA sample from a girl in New Zealand has been sent to British police to quash the suggestion that she could be Madeleine McCann.Related StoriesDogs microchipping scheme welcomedPublic funds 'may be cut by third'Two arrested over child sex abuseRaids target people-smuggling gangsRobbers take star's £30,000 watch

France may start pulling out its troops from Mali at the end of next month.Related StoriesSmall tsunami hits Solomon IslandsTsunami 'kills Pacific islanders'Obama urges short-term budget dealGreek ferry strikers made to returnTime for change on Monopoly board

The sister of missing schoolgirl Arlene Arkinson fears she may not live to see a full inquest into the death.Related StoriesFormer nurse to become a live donorProbe vow over horse meat 'fraud'NI cancer cases rise by a thirdNew chief for Presbyterian ChurchProbe as man shot in ankle by gang

A junior minister in the Government has broken ranks to call for a full state apology for the state's involvement in the incarceration of thousands of women in Catholic workhouses.Related Stories'The nuns have destroyed my life'Magdalene laundries: The nuns have destroyed my lifeGang leaders suspected of murdering Real IRA leader Alan Ryan are […]